Goodyear Executive Defends Contract Offer

The contract offer from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. that the Steelworkers union rejected includes increases in wages, pensions and medical benefits, a company executive told employees.

Jon Rich, president of the North American tire unit, also said in an e-mail this week that the plan requires workers and retirees to pay a portion of the costs.

"The contract offer we put on the table would achieve the joint goals of saving Goodyear and provide associates with competitive benefits," Rich wrote. "The offer was fair."

Akron-based Goodyear, the world's largest tire maker, made the offer Friday after about three months of negotiations. United Steelworkers of America officials turned it down, saying it did not address job security for the 16,000 union members at 14 plants.

Employees continue to work under a contract extension both sides agreed to in April. Both sides must give three days notice before starting a strike or lockout.

Union officials said Rich's e-mail lauded the health and prescription insurance benefits in the proposed contract, but he didn't mention that the offer would cut retirees' benefits in half.

They also say the proposal fails to cover two plants and more than a third of the work force while allowing Goodyear to close or idle any plant at any time.

The contract would cover plants in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Alabama, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New York, Kansas, Texas and Tennessee. The union wants to negotiate an agreement that could be applied to other rubber companies, including Bridgestone-Firestone and Michelin.

Chuck Sinclair, a Goodyear spokesman, said that he could not elaborate on Rich's comments in Monday's e-mail.

Goodyear makes tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 90 plants in 28 nations, and employs about 92,000 people. Its shares rose 14 cents to close at $5.44 in trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.